Webinar in Collaboration with
Navigating the Holidays: Mealtimes with Sensory-
Sensitive and Autistic Children
Tuesday, November 17, 2026 · 10 - 11 am ET
Wednesday, December 2, 2026 · 10 - 11 am ET
What you’ll walk away with
Holiday meals bring new foods, new people, noise, and broken routines, which can overwhelm children with sensory differences. This session covers how to prepare children ahead of time, lower the pressure at the table, and plan for the foods and moments that tend to be hardest, both in the classroom and at home.
You will get
A clear explanation of why some children eat the way they do, and how the holidays makes it even harder, including how sensory processing, anxiety, and neurodevelopment shape food behavior in ways that have nothing to do with pickiness or bad habits
Strategies to reduce sensory overload and excitement during holiday mealtimes, while keeping the magic of the season
Fun ways to engage with holiday foods beyond the table
Strategies to share with families on bringing family and friends on board to reduce mealtime stress
Attendance certificate for your professional development records provided after the session
Meet your speaker
Natalia Stasenko
Founder, Pediatric Registered Dietitian, and mom of three
Natalia, Georgetown Thrive Center Innovation Fellow, specializes in responsive feeding, picky eating, and feeding children with sensory differences and neurodivergence. Natalia’s work is grounded in the latest feeding research, and her experience working with families and early childhood programs.
A Deep Dive into Understanding Kids' Mealtime Challenges
You know the child. The one who gags at the sight of certain foods. Who eats the same four things, every single day, without exception. Who shuts down completely at the table, or melts down before the meal even starts. You've tried encouragement. You've tried food play. You've tried everything the handouts suggest.
It didn't work because those strategies weren't built for this child.
Many of the kids educators find hardest to feed are wired differently. They may be autistic, sensory-sensitive, anxious, or still undiagnosed, but their relationship with food is real, it's complex, and it requires a different kind of understanding.
These webinars are about Understanding & Strategies
For Early Childhood Educators, Head Start and Early Head Start staff, program directors, family support workers, and anyone who eats lunch with kids and wonders why on earth won't they just try it.
No nutrition background required.